This might be a rant. I'm a long time Marlborough soap user. I love its scent and performance. Even the ashtray aspect of it. I bought the cream just to shave time (pun intended) during the morning. The scent is not even close to the soap. It is like I bought a totally different product in terms of scent. Now I wonder if this situation should be expected in these products and in others. Actually, it is the first time that I buy different products of the same scent.

(10-24-2015, 08:27 AM)carvelo Wrote: This might be a rant. I'm a long time Marlborough soap user. I love its scent and performance. Even the ashtray aspect of it. I bought the cream just to shave time (pun intended) during the morning. The scent is not even close to the soap. It is like I bought a totally different product in terms of scent. Now I wonder if this situation should be expected in these products and in others. Actually, it is the first time that I buy different products of the same scent.

Agree.
I got samples of their Marlborough and Sandalwood creams, and those two scents "in cream" are closer to one another than the Marlborough cream and soap are to one another, IMO.

This can easily happen depending on the format of the product. Different product types use varying ingredients and oils, so inevitably the base (over which the fragrance is applied) will smell different.

I really love the cream, as it has a warm, slightly spicy sandalwood vibe to it. I was very confused about why people were talking about prominent cedar notes, and saying that it smells like an ashtray, because I can smell none of that. It was not until I tried the aftershave, that I understood. The aftershave smells entirely different than the cream, and honestly, I hated the dirty smoke lounge smell so much that I gave my sample away to a friend. I have been curious for a while now, whether the soap more closely resembles the cream, or the aftershave, but I guess your post clears that up for me. This begs a new question, though. Why does the cream smell so much different than the soap and aftershave? Perhaps something about the chemistry of the cream buries all of the cedar and smokiness? Or is the blend of fragrances actually different?

As per the ingredient list, Marborough SC does not include "Parfum", and only uses "Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone" as its fragrance, whereas the Marlborough SS includes both "Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone" and "Parfum". Another exception, as mentioned, exists with the Almond range; the Almond SC just includes "Benzaldehyde" [a primary component of bitter-almond oil] as its fragrance, whereas the SS includes "Parfum" and some other aromatics—but no "Benzaldehyde".
Persoanlly, I prefer the scent of the Marlborough SC over the SS, with the reverse being true of the Almond.

(10-24-2015, 02:32 PM)CHSeifert Wrote: As a owner of all the DR Harris soaps (not the unscented though) and 6 of the DR Harris creams, I agree that the Marlborough cream has a different scent than the soap.

But so does the almond soap, which smells very natural nutty and dry, and not marzipane/cherry like azt all, whereas the almond cream has the sweet marzipane almond scent.

I actually think the Marlborough cream and soap are closer to each other scent wise, than the almond creram and soap is.

The Sandalwood cream and soap are pretty close to each other scent wise IMHO.
Same with Windsor cream and soap and Arlington cream and soap.

I only own the Lavender soap, as I think the Lavender cream is too lillac in colour for my taste and shaving brushes to own it.

Claus:
I am thinking of getting the Windsor and could not decide between cream or soap. You mention that the scent is the same.
Is there a difference in terms of performance/skin care/etc?

(10-25-2015, 04:17 AM)Galhatz Wrote: Claus:
I am thinking of getting the Windsor and could not decide between cream or soap. You mention that the scent is the same.
Is there a difference in terms of performance/skin care/etc?

Thanks,
Erez

I am not Claus, but in the meantime, here is my 2 cents:
DRH shaving software has inhabited my den longer [been at this game for ~15 yrs] than any brand. Throughout this time, there have been some significant changes made to both the SS and SC. Up until about a couple of years ago, I found the SSs decidedly better performing than the SCs. However, I have noticed DRH has made significant strides in the last couple of years [or so] in the SCs department. I find, the currently manufactured DRH SCs to be on par with their SS counterparts, in terms of lubricity, post-shave-feel, etc. Therefore, at this time, I think it's a toss up, and feel the deciding factor, in this arena, should be format [general functionality of SCs vs SSs] and scent preference. Of course, YMMV.

Same experience as the OP here as well. I love the scent of the soap due to its similarity to Ralph Lauren Safari, which I discovered first. The cream is a bit different, and I can see out some people get an ashtray note from it, but I think it is more of a musty note. I happen to like it, so not an issue for me, but I prefer the scent of the soap. That said, I use the cream usually for travelling, and it is mind-bogglingly slick, especially when paired with reasonably soft water.

(10-25-2015, 04:17 AM)Galhatz Wrote: I am thinking of getting the Windsor and could not decide between cream or soap. You mention that the scent is the same.

The scents most definitely are NOT the same. Windsor is one of my favorite creams, so I bought the soap, and ended up disliking it. The problem is that the fragrance of the soap is overpowered by a sort of "Ivory soap" smell. The soapiness is unpleasant, and tends to make the Windsor scent seem sickly-sweet.

Well this certainly gives me pause. I have a puck of the soap and it's my favorite Harris scent. Under the assumption that creams are more heavily scented I've been shopping around for the best deal on a pot of it. Although I'm a soap man and need to work through the creams I have, the Marlborough and, believe it or not, the TOBS Shave Shop creams have been weighing on my mind lately and the only relief I'll get is when I get both.